Column 3:

The Japan Society of Applied Physics (JSAP): 2

Sales Director at Systems Engineering Inc.
Toshihiro Takata

The 70th JSAP Spring Meeting 2023 was also memorable in a sense that it was the first JSAP meeting that offered awards targeted exclusively at female researchers. The awards were titled “JSAP Diversity & Inclusion Awards”.
The Saruhashi Prize is famous as an award exclusively targeted at female researchers. I believe it is a good trend that their achievements are recognized in a tangible way in the field of physical engineering that was once said to be the “men’s world”. Although you would reasonably argue that excellent researchers should receive recognition regardless of gender, I think it is a good sign showing the old-fashioned world of physics is adopting flexible thinking.
The first recipients of the JSAP Diversity & Inclusion Awards are (honorifics omitted); Mihoko Maruyama (Osaka University), Maki Kushimoto (Nagoya University), and Yu-Chieh Lin (RIKEN).
The chairperson of a symposium in the Spring Meeting was Ms. Megumi Akai (Osaka University) and one of the three vice presidents of JSAP is Ms. Kaoru Tamada (Kyushu University). Women are becoming to play bigger roles in JSAP, which seems to be changing to an organization without gender segregation.

The above-mentioned Saruhashi Prize, established by Dr. Katsuko Saruhashi, is awarded annually in around May from the Association for the Bright Future of Women Scientists to female scientists under the age of 50 who achieved great research results in the field of natural science. The association distributes a prize of ¥300,000. A winner is selected from candidates of recommendations from academic societies etc. and direct applications.
Natural science is classified into physical science, earth science and life science. This classification is based on the job category in educational fields. Although they are less distinct as far as their research contents go, I would not argue its pros and cons here.
Recipients

• 1st (1981) Tomoko Ohta (Professor Emeritus, National Institute of Genetics) (Theoretical study of population genetics at the molecular level)
• 2nd (1982) Haruka Yamada (Professor, Kwansei Gakuin University) (Laser Raman spectroscopy to study surface phenomena)
• 3rd (1983) Masako Osumi (Professor Emeritus, Japan Women’s University: President, Integrated Image Research Support) (Microstructure and function of yeast cells)
• 4th (1984) Fumiko Yonezawa (Professor Emeritus, Keio University) (Theoretical study of physical properties of non-crystalline materials)
• 5th (1985) Mariko Yasugi (Professor Emeritus, Kyoto Sangyo University) (Methodology for elucidating the logical structure of analysis)
• 6th (1986) Yoshie Souma (Emeritus Researcher, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology: Special Adviser to President, Kobe University) (New organic synthesis catalysts)
• 7th (1987) Izumi Oono (former Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology) (Fundamental research on electrochemical formation of thin films)
• 8th (1988) Chikako Sato (Research Manager, Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute) (The study of mitotic cell death caused by radiation)
• 9th (1989) Mizuho Ishida (Senior Scientist, Institute for Research on Earth Evolution, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology) (Microearthquakes as earthquake precursors and a probe of tectonic plate structure)
• 10th (1990) Mihoko Takahashi (Professor Emeritus, University of Tsukuba) (Genetic studies of protozoan behaviour)
• 11th (1991) Miwako Mori (Professor Emeritus, Hokkaido University) (Development of new reactions for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals)
• 12th (1992) Takako Kato (Professor Emeritus, National Institute for Fusion Science) (Atomic processes in high-temperature plasma)
• 13th (1993) Reiko Kuroda (Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo) (Mechanism to discriminate the handedness of chiral molecules and DNA base pairs)
• 14th (1994) Hiroko Shirai (Associate Professor, Ushimado Marine Laboratory, Okayama University) (Research of the mechanism of starfish ovulation and egg maturation)
• 15th (1995) Shihoko Ishii (Professor, The University of Tokyo: former Professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology: Program Officer, Research Center for Science Systems, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) (Research of singularities in algebraic geometry)
• 16th (1996) Maki Kawai (Professor, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo: Chief Scientist, RIKEN) (Basic research of chemical reactions taking place on solid-state surfaces)
• 17th (1997) Tetsuko Takabe (Professor, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciense, Nagoya University) (The molecular mechanism of salt-tolerance in plants)
• 18th (1998) Keiko Nishikawa (Professor, Graduate School of Advanced Integration Science, Chiba University: Senior Program Officer, Research Center for Science Systems, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) (Study of supercritical fluid)
• 19th (1999) Sumiko Mochida (Professor, Tokyo Medical University) (Research of the release mechanism of the neurotransmitter)
• 20th (2000) Tomoko Nakanishi (Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo) (Behavior of water and trace elements in plants)
• 21st (2001) Hiroko Nagahara (Professor, School of Science, The University of Tokyo) (The formation and evolution of meteorites and planetary materials)
• 22nd (2002) Chikako Shingyoji (Assistant Professor, School of Science, The University of Tokyo) (A study on flagellar movement)
• 23rd (2003) Kiyoko Fukami (Professor, Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences) (The role of phospholipid metabolism in life phenomena)
• 24th (2004) Haruyo Koiso (Professor, KEK) (Contribution to the world’s highest brightness achieved in the collider KEKB)
• 25th (2005) Motoko Kotani (Professor, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University) (Research of discrete geometric analysis due to the crystal lattice)
• 26th (2006) Ikue Mori (Professor, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University) (Genetic studies of sensory and learning behaviour)
• 27th (2007) Yukari Takayabu (Professor, Center for Climate System Research, The University of Tokyo) (Observational study on the dynamics of cloud distribution in the tropics)
• 28th (2008) Kyoko Nozaki (Professor, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo) (Study of the precision polymerization of a polar monomer using a metal complex catalyst)
• 29th (2009) Mikiko C. Siomi (Associate Professor, Keio University School of Medicine) (Mechanism of action of RNA silencing)
• 30th (2010) Yoshiko Takahashi (Professor, Nara Institute of Science and Technology) (The morphogenesis of animals during embryonic development)
• 31st (2011) Noriko Mizoguchi (Associate Professor, Faculty of Education, Tokyo Gakugei University) (Asymptotic analysis of blow-up phenomena)
• 32nd (2012) Ayako Abe (Associate Professor, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo) (The mechanism of ice sheet fluctuation and the past-to-future climate)
• 33rd (2013) Emiko Hiyama (Associate Chief Scientist, Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science, RIKEN) (The establishment of precise calculation algorithms for quantum few-body physics and development thereof)
• 34th (2014) Emi Hifumi (Professor, Research Promotion Institute, Oita University) (Functional proteins, coined “super catalytic antibodies” (antigenase))
• 35th (2015) Keiko Torii (Visiting Professor, Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules, Nagoya University) (Research of mechanism of cell-cell communication and stomatal development in plants)
• 36th (2016) Tamaki Sato (Associate Professor, Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Tokyo Gakugei University) (Description and Systematics of the Mesozoic Reptiles)
• 37th (2017) Aya Ishihara (Associate Professor, Institute for Global Prominent Research, Chiba University) (Research of ultra-high-energy cosmic neutrinos)
• 38th (2018) Toshiko Terakawa (Lecturer, Earthquake and Volcano Research Center, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University) (Study on crustal stress and pore fluid pressure governing seismicity)
• 39th (2019) Rie Umetsu (Associate Professor, Institute for Materials Research,Tohoku University) (The physical properties of the Heusler-type functional magnetic materials including the half-metal-type magnets)
• 40th (2020) Atsuko Ichikawa (Associate Professor, Department of Physics, Kyoto University) (Unraveling the nature of neutrino by accelerator-based long baseline neutrino experiment)
• 41st (2021) Mikiko Tanaka (Professor, Department of Life Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology) (Research on the development and evolution of vertebrate limbs)
• 42nd (2022) Kimiko Sekiguchi (Professor, Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology) (Experimental study of three-body nuclear force in nuclear physics)

For those who are interested in Dr. Saruhashi’s personality, I would recommend a book titled “Saruhashi Katsuko to iu ikikata (A way of living embodied in Katsuko Saruhashi)” written by Fumiko Yonezawa. Dr. Saruhashi dreamed forward to the future of female scientists and accomplished a great achievement by establishing the foundation.

Physics and engineering are getting crossed over each other in the academic field. Terms of designation vary depending on from which side you see it. Engineering became involved in theoretical physics, experimental physics and applied physics to make new categories of “science and engineering” or “physical engineering”, and new disciplinary faculties are emerging. I suppose these interdisciplinary approaches began to increase after the spread of universities emphasizing the “exit” of research activities. Since pure academic researches on science or physics are difficult to find an “exit” in themselves, they seem to have been trying to expand their areas by including engineering way of thinking that serves to improve people’s lives. Expansion of interdisciplinary fields caused by universities’ emphasis on substantive achievements presents both positive and negative aspects. Research for research, research as ends, and research in one’s specialized field are decreasing and instead research for economy, research as means, and research out of one’s specialized field are increasing.

Turning educational institutions into corporations has sharply increased universities that seek only for “exits”. I believe major problems would occur somewhere in the future if we continue to gloss over fundamental researches. Working from the ground up takes an immense amount of time and effort. Now is the time to rethink the trend before it is too late.

Current dependency on simulations in industrial fields is also an issue of concern. Simulations can repeat try& error and refine the product without making prototypes. You don’t have to make trial model until the last stage just before the full-scale production. This method is speedy, accurate, low cost, and does not bring forth failed products. Past assemble-and-scrap way of production has become obsolete, and this fast-paced production is deeply capturing people in charge of manufacturing. Only design technologies are valued and electrical engineers are treated preferentially. Examining mechanical and material problems such as physicality, structure or heat is sometimes skipped or substituted by other people’s data. I wonder where the will and passion in building neat things has gone.
Even though we all know that accidental encounters/discoveries can bring us wonderful technologies and are necessary for producing something good, speedy manufacturing is trying to do away with both accidents and encounters. We would not discover anything only by conducting R&D with pre-established harmony. Simulations to eliminate accidents and prototyping/experiments only to confirm their success would merely produce what was meant to be and would never produce what exceeds our expectations.
I do not intend to blame simulations, but I am concerned about the future.
Male-dominated filed of physics has started to change and females are participating actively. This fact offers hope that women’s flexible thinking and ceaseless efforts will achieve the best possible balance between good old way of research and that of new era. I have glimpsed its possibility at the JSAP meeting.